ThinApp Scripts and Killing Lingering Processes

ThinApps occasionally require some special manipulations to get working correctly.  One of the most common issues that I’ve seen with otherwise working ThinApp packages is a failure to close correctly.  Sometimes, even after a ThinApp is closed, a process will be left running that might keep the sandbox undesirably locked or cause issues with re-execution.  An easy way to resolve that issue is with a ThinApp Script.

These scripts can be used to solve all sorts of issues.  A ThinApp Script is just a VBS script that runs at one of four specified points in a ThinApp’s execution.  The vbs script can be named anything, but should be placed as a sibling with the package.ini file (you only get one vbs file though a script can call another script ad infinitum), in the root of the package.  The vbs script will be automatically baked into the package, and each of 4 optional functions will be executed at the appropriate time.  Those functions are as follows:

The OnFirstSandboxOwner function is executed whenever the Sandbox for the ThinApp is opened.  That means that it runs when an entry point to the ThinApp is run, but only when the first entry point is run.  For example, if you look at a typical MS Office ThinApp, this function would run when an Office Application (say Word) is executed.  If Word is left open and Excel is started, this function would not execute again.  After both programs are closed, if Excel (or any other Office Application, for that matter) is run again, this function will run as well.  It only runs when the Sandbox is opened, not every time an entry point is executed.

The OnFirstParentStart function runs whenever an entry point is executed, prior to the actual execution of the ThinApp.  This happens for each entry point, so can happen multiple times per sandbox.  To use the above example, this function would execute when Word is opened and then again when Excel is opened, regardless of the running state of Word.

The OnFirstParentExit function is the converse of the prior function; it runs whenever an entry point is closed.  This function will run every time an entry point is closed, even if that Entry Point has spawned child processes that are still running.  In our example, it would run when both Word and Excel are closed.  This is the function that I’ve used to kill my errant Child Processes.

The final function is to OnFirstSandboxOwner as OnFirstParentExit is to OnFirstParentStart.  The OnLastProcessExit function executes after the final process (be it an entry point or a child) closes and the Sandbox is thus closed as well.  In our example, this function would execute only after both Word and Excel had been closed (as well as after any spawned Child Processes had closed).

So, how do we use one of these scripts to kill an errant process?  The first thing that we must do is determine the name of our target process.  To discover the name of the process, simply add the following line to the [BuildOptions] section of your Package.ini file:


ProcessExternalNameBehaviour=Original



Once you rebuild your package, that will expose the actual process names, rather than just getting the name of the entry point.  Start your ThinApp, then close it and open up Task Manager to look for the process that’s left lingering.

Since we’re planning on killing a process by its name, we want to ensure that we have the correct name.  With your process name identified, you can use the following vbs script to take care of the issue.  Just define “strProcessKill” with whatever your process is named and you’re good to go.  This code snippet is from the VMware ThinApp blog at http://blogs.vmware.com/thinapp/2008/10/using-ie-7-on-v.html.  As you can see, I used this to kill a lingering process from Adobe Creative Suite 5.5.

Beware of unintended Line Breaks due to the width of this blog... if something doesn't look like it should be on a separate line, it probably shouldn't be.




Function OnFirstParentExit




    Dim objWMIService, objProcess, colProcess

    Dim strComputer, strProcessKill

    strComputer = "."

    strProcessKill = "'cs5.5servicemanager.exe'"

    Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:" & "{impersonationLevel=impersonate}!\\" & strComputer & "\root\cimv2")

    Set colProcess = objWMIService.ExecQuery ("Select * from Win32_Process Where Name = " & strProcessKill )

    For Each objProcess in colProcess

        objProcess.Terminate()

    Next

End Function